Composite fabric body such as channel runway, finishing welt, and the like



April 4, 1939. c SCHEMMEL 2,153,584 COMPOSITE FABRIC BODY SUCH AS CHANNEL RUNWAQ', FINISHING WELT, AND THE L?KE:

Filed July 2, 1955- Patented Apra4, 1939 I l I 1 I I v I UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE- COMPOSITE FABRIC BODY SUCH AS. CHAN- NEL RUNWAY, FINISHING WELT, AND THE Robert 0. Schenimel, Union City, Inc. Application July 2, 1935, Serial No. 29,558- 3 Claims. (01. 296-445) My invention relates to automobile body flndinner ply is metal, and certain attempts have ings such as glass run channels and trimming been made to provide a metallic inner ply capawelts. ble of being curved as indicated without objec- More specifically, the invention provides an tionable puckering and buckling. Thus, sheet 5 improvement in automobile body findings which metal has been used, and transverse slits have 6 are conveniently manufactured in strips of inbeen made in the sheet to permit it to open up .definite length and which are cut to pieces of rein the curved portions of the channel. Such conquired length and disposed .in curved forms to structions have been found objectionable because suit the requirements of the individual installaof their cost and because the opened up length m tion s. of metal at the curve weakens the whole struc- 10 The type oi findings to which my invention is ture at the curved portion and entails considerprimarily applicable comprises laminated bodies able movement of the outer ply with relation to including a stiffening, form-maintaining inner the inner, slitted metal ply. To provide for such ply and an outer ply which constitutes the wearmovement the inner and outer plies cannot be receiving surface or the ornamental trimming firmly bonded together, so that the whole strucface. v ture, even in its straightway portions, is weakened.

' The invention is particularly concerned with In one form of embodiment my present inventhe characteristics of the inner, form-maintaintion provides a channel runway comprising an ing ply, and its combination with the outer ply. outer ply of any approved material and an irmer 0 The board concept of the combination of outer ply of metal firmly bonded thereto, unweakened and inner plies having the above suggested charby slits or the like yet inherently capable 'of beacteristicsis not new. It has heretofore been ingcurved, without undue distortion. proposed, for example, to provide finishing welts, Trimming welts are applied at various points particularly those of the blind nail type, with an about an automobile body where curves out of the internal stiffening element common to the base plane of the transverse axis of the welt must be 26 and fiap to maintain the flap down on the base negotiated. Hence these welts present a similar after the tacking operation. Moreover, the problem, and my broad combinationof an outer present tendency of automobile designers to proply and my improved inner ply is accordingly advide window and door openings with continuvantageously useful in the make-up of such welts,

30 ously curved sides and tops, as distinguished from In the preferred form of embodiment .selected 30 the former strictly rectangular relationship of for illustration here, the strip comprises the comsides and top, including a 90 degree corner relabination of any approved type of outer material tion'ship between the top and each side, has made and an inner. ply formed of wire cloth, having it necessary to provide glass run channelscapable wire in the warp and weft, or at any rate having of being curved to conform to the new style of wire extending longitudinally and transversely 35 opening. In other words, it was formerly custoor the fabric, and a cloth of fibrous threads cemary to provide such channels in-the side, strictly merited to at least one surface of the wire cloth. vertical, door and window posts only. The chan- Certain preferred types of embodiment of the nel material was cut to length and terminated invention are illustrated by the accompanying 0 abruptly at the top of the door or window. The drawing, in which, top of the opening was filled with another cut Figure 1 shows a portion of wire cloth suitable length of channel or in some cases. simply a length for use in practicing the invention; of resilient rubber cushion. Now, however, it is Fig. 2 is a similar view ofv the fibrous thread necessary to provide a continuous length of chancloth which I cement to the wire cloth;

and down the other post. Manifestly such a ply material formed by the association of wirev channel mustbe capable of being curved in the cloth and fibrous thread cloth; a

plane of the channel sides without'material dis- Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a channel runtortion of those sides or the normal cross sectional way assembly, prior to being formed in. channel contour of the channel. shape; .1 1

- A primary object of the presentinvention is Fig.5 is a perspectiveview of a curved portion to provide'a channel construction capable of beof the completed channel runway;

ing disposed in such curves without objectionable Fig. 6 is apperspective view-ole finishing Wel distortion, yet including a substantial stiflening embodying the invention, shown in open, tacking 5c inner ply. Apparently the best material for the position; and

I 45 nel runway extending up one post, across the top, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a strip of inner 45 I shown in closed, installed position.

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the welt of Fig. 6

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral I designates a portion of wire cloth which may be similar to common window screenmaterial. At any rate is it desirable that the cloth embody wires extending both longitudinally and transversely. I have found that such wire cloth .constitutes an extremely inexpensive stiffening and form-maintaining medium for the type of strip elements which the invention contemplates.

However, it is difllcult to manipulate such wire cloth in narrow strips cut from relatively wide sheets, since the absence of a selvage results in free fraying of the edges and loss of individual wires. crossed wires of such cloth is extremely unstable, so that the wire elements in narrow strips of the cloth freely slide over each other. The cloth has therefore stiffness tending transverse bending operation, but has little resistance to opposite, parallel, co-planar forces along the edges of the stri indicated by arrows in Fig. 1. Such forces, even when of small value, such as those which are inevitable in handling the cloth, result in skewing the wire elements, destroying the right angular crossing relation of the longitudinal and transverse wires. Such characteristics of the wire cloth militate against its use in a composite article of narrow width.

- I have discovered that these objectionable characteristics of the wire cloth can be completely overcome and the wire cloth transformed into an excellent stiffening and form-maintaining medium for channel runways and welts by cementing or otherwise securing to one or both surfaces of the wire cloth a layer or ply 'of cheap fibrous thread fabric, such shown in Fig. 2 and designated 2. In Fig. 3 I show a layer, of the latter cloth cemented to each face of the wire cloth. The resulting assembly possesses precisely the right amount of stiffness for the use to which 'I put it, the assembly is proof against fraying when out into narrow strips,

and it cannot skew under the imposition of forces I like those designated by the arrows in Fig. 1. It is of course obvious that the composite fabric provided -by the assembly is extremely inexpensive, costing but a fraction of the price of sheet metal, particularly specially formed sheet metal having transverse slits or the like.

I prefer to associate two layers of cheesecloth or the like with the wire cloth, one on each side of the wire cloth, cemented together through the mesh of the wire cloth. The cost of this assembly is so low that the saving which would be effected by using negligible. 7

With the composite fabric of Fig. 3 as an inner stifl'ening ply, any approved type of channel or welt may be made. In Fig. 4 I show the inner stiffening ply encased within an outer ply 3 of felt, plush, velvet, or other customary channel outside material. The body thus formed, by cementing the outer material to the inner ply, may

include edge wires 4, I, encased within the folds of any of the piles, to provide edge beads for receiving, in crimped relation, ornamental beading I, i, of any soft metal,preferably plated to enhance its appearance and that of the channel. In Fig. 51 show the body of Fig. 4 formed to channel contour, andv incidentally curved to fit the form of a window or door top zone.

In Figs. 6 and '7 I show at 8 a ply of my composite wire and cloth material having a margin Furthermore, the weave relation of the to resist a directly the invention.

as the cheesecloth only one layer of cheesecloth is enclosed within the base 1 of a finishing welt and itsopposite margin secured within the flap 8 of the welt. A substantially central zone of the strip 6 thus bridges the imaginary line where the flap and base meet, to perform the usual stiffening and form-maintaining function of the inner plies heretofore used in welts. The advantage of welts embodying the ply 6 is that they can be readily disposed about transverse curves without objectionable puckering and buckling, in addition of course to the cheapness of the ply 6 and the facility with which it may be handled without fraying and loss of its component wires.

In certain of the appended claims I define the wire ply as screen and the attached cloth layer as cheesecloth. It will be understood of course that these terms are used generically, contemplate all equivalents, and have been adopted because sary that the wire be exactly the type of mesh which is suitable for window screening, or that the associated fibrous cloth be strictly and technically the type properly known as cheesecloth.

In addition to its extremely low cost an important advantage of my new constructionis its capacity to be bent or curved in the plane of the window pane, in the case of glass run channels, and in the plane of the base, in the case of welts, without distortion in the form of pucker'ing. I

ply. These two plies are securely cemented together, because the engaged surfaces of the two plies are of firous material capable of absorbing and holding the cement. In the prior constructions with which I am acquainted the cement was applied to a layer of sheet metal and the resulting bond was necessarily very poor and broke down soon after the ,cement dried. Consequently my construction is substantially unitary and integral and all parts of it bend and move together where the body is adequately to explain the principles of the invention. I recognize that the invention, is of broad application, being useful in and applicable to any type of composite strip element which it is desirable, to stiffen and necessary to dispose around a curve.- Accordingly I deem within the scope of the invention and that of the appended claims, all suchmodifled embodiments, except insofar as the claims are limitedby their express wording and the prior art. I

I claim: I I 1. The method of making an elongated, relatively narrow,striplike body having a longitudinal fold and including a stiffening ply for maintaining said fold which comprises taking a relatively wide sheet of wire screen consisting of woven warp and weft Wire's unsecured together and therefore subject to ravelling, cementing to a side'of saidsheet of screen a single sheet only It is of course by no means necesfabric, cutting from the composite fabric a relatively narrow strip, applying to said strip a layer of glass-engaging material, and iorming said product into channel shape.

3. The'method of making a glass run. channel for automobile windows and the like which comprises cementing a single ply only of cheesecloth to each opposite surface of a relatively wide sheet of wire screen to provide a composite, three ply, flexible, non-ravelling fabric, cutting from the composite fabric a relatively narrow strip, applymg to said strip a layer of glass-engaging material, and forming said product into channel shape.

of cheesecloth of similar shape to provide a composite, flexible, non-ravelling fabric, cutting from the composite fabric a relatively narrow strip,

applying to said strip a layer of surfacing ma 5 terial to form the outer, finishing ply of the completed body, and then forming a longitudinal fold in said body.

2. The method of making a glass run channel for automobile windows and the like which comprises taking a relatively wide sheet of wire screen consisting of woven warp and weft wires unsecured together and therefore subject to ravellirig, cementing to a side of said sheet oi screen a single sheet only of cheesecloth of similar shape 16 to provide a composite, flexible, non-ravelling ROBERT c. seamen 

